What is the orichalcum?
What is the orichalcum?
The oricalco or orichalcum, is a semi-mythical metal attributed to the lost city of Atlantis, according to the stories, this material covered the interior, walls and columns of said metropolis. This metal was known, because according to legends, it was used by the gods and was found throughout the temple of the god Poseidon (Meler, 2015).
In 2015, it apparently ceased to be a legend (Carvajal, 2015), since archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa found 39 ingots (Forssmann, 2017) of a mysterious alloy (Mystery Planet, 2015) that was attributed to the mythical orichalcum, this , along with other ancient artifacts in a wreck of the sixth century before the common era, on the coast of Gela, near Sicily. The composition of this discovery is between 75-80% copper, 15-20% zinc, and the rest of iron, nickel, and lead (Montes, 2018). This metal seems to have been found twice in history, apart from the wreck of 2015, there is the possibility, according to Jim Allen (Allen, n.d.; El Pensante, 2009) that the orichalcum and the material that the natives of the region of the Bolivian andes called tumbaga, correspond to the same alloy.
Allen, J. (s.f.). ORICHALCUM - the second most valuable metal then known -. Recuperado de http://www.atlantisbolivia.org/orichalcum.htm
Carvajal, G. (2015). "Oricalco, el legendario metal de la Atlántida, encontrado en un pecio de hace 2.600 años". En La Brújula Verde. Recuperado de https://www.labrujulaverde.com/2015/01/encuentran-oricalco-el-legendario-metal-de-la-atlantida
El Pensante. (2009). La Atlántida se situó en el altiplano boliviano, según Jim Allen. Recuperado de https://www.elpensante.com/la-atlantida-se-situo-en-el-altiplano-boliviano-segun-jim-allen/
Forssmann, A. (2017). "Hallan 39 lingotes de oricalco, un metal legendario". En National Geographic. Recuperado de https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/historia/actualidad/hallan-39-lingotes-de-oricalco-un-metal-legendario_8887
Meler, D. (2015). "Orichalcum: descubierto el mítico metal de la Atlántida?". En iHistoriArte. Recuperado de https://www.ihistoriarte.com/2015/01/orichalcum-descubierto-el-mitico-metal-de-la-atlantida/
Montes, J.M. (2018). "El Oricalco". En Derematerialia. Recuperado de http://www.derematerialia.com/el-oicalco/
Mystery Planet. (2015). .Oricalco, el mítito metal de la Atlántida, es hallado en un naufragio. Recuperdado de https://mysteryplanet.com.ar/site/oricalco-el-mitico-metal-de-la-atlantida-es-hallado-en-un-naufragio/
- About this mythical metal
The oricalco or orichalcum, is a semi-mythical metal attributed to the lost city of Atlantis, according to the stories, this material covered the interior, walls and columns of said metropolis. This metal was known, because according to legends, it was used by the gods and was found throughout the temple of the god Poseidon (Meler, 2015).
In 2015, it apparently ceased to be a legend (Carvajal, 2015), since archaeologist Sebastiano Tusa found 39 ingots (Forssmann, 2017) of a mysterious alloy (Mystery Planet, 2015) that was attributed to the mythical orichalcum, this , along with other ancient artifacts in a wreck of the sixth century before the common era, on the coast of Gela, near Sicily. The composition of this discovery is between 75-80% copper, 15-20% zinc, and the rest of iron, nickel, and lead (Montes, 2018). This metal seems to have been found twice in history, apart from the wreck of 2015, there is the possibility, according to Jim Allen (Allen, n.d.; El Pensante, 2009) that the orichalcum and the material that the natives of the region of the Bolivian andes called tumbaga, correspond to the same alloy.
Emanuele riela [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
References:
Allen, J. (s.f.). ORICHALCUM - the second most valuable metal then known -. Recuperado de http://www.atlantisbolivia.org/orichalcum.htm
Carvajal, G. (2015). "Oricalco, el legendario metal de la Atlántida, encontrado en un pecio de hace 2.600 años". En La Brújula Verde. Recuperado de https://www.labrujulaverde.com/2015/01/encuentran-oricalco-el-legendario-metal-de-la-atlantida
El Pensante. (2009). La Atlántida se situó en el altiplano boliviano, según Jim Allen. Recuperado de https://www.elpensante.com/la-atlantida-se-situo-en-el-altiplano-boliviano-segun-jim-allen/
Forssmann, A. (2017). "Hallan 39 lingotes de oricalco, un metal legendario". En National Geographic. Recuperado de https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/historia/actualidad/hallan-39-lingotes-de-oricalco-un-metal-legendario_8887
Meler, D. (2015). "Orichalcum: descubierto el mítico metal de la Atlántida?". En iHistoriArte. Recuperado de https://www.ihistoriarte.com/2015/01/orichalcum-descubierto-el-mitico-metal-de-la-atlantida/
Montes, J.M. (2018). "El Oricalco". En Derematerialia. Recuperado de http://www.derematerialia.com/el-oicalco/
Mystery Planet. (2015). .Oricalco, el mítito metal de la Atlántida, es hallado en un naufragio. Recuperdado de https://mysteryplanet.com.ar/site/oricalco-el-mitico-metal-de-la-atlantida-es-hallado-en-un-naufragio/
How to cite this article:
Nocetti, F.A. (2018). "What is the orichalcum?". In NabbuBlog. Retrieved from http://nabbublog.blogspot.com/2018/12/what-is-orichalcum.html